


Don't Leave Me Here

by orphan_account



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Gen, I also don't know how to tag things, I basically just attempted to write through the five stages of grief, Scout gets stuck in limbo whilst respawn is down, kind of angsty i guess, this is a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-29
Updated: 2014-10-29
Packaged: 2018-02-23 02:46:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2531258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team had always tried to scare Scout with stories of respawn going down whilst people were still in it.</p><p>But what happens when it actually does?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Leave Me Here

“Beat it, kid.” 

Those were the last words he had heard before everything had gone black.

The Scout waited for the feeling to come, the sensations that were respawn, stretching and pulling at his very existence as he was created from scratch once again. That slow burning press and pull that he still hadn’t gotten used to, even after all these years of being blown apart by rockets or torn to pieces by bullets.

But it didn’t come.

In fact, nothing happened. 

_No._

 

He’d heard of this happening before.

People stuck in limbo, trapped within the mechanisms of respawn. He’d heard tales, mostly from his own team in an attempt to scare him. Of course, he had just brushed it all off, ignoring that tiny voice in his head that whispered “What if?” 

They said that no one had ever come back from it, from the void bordering existence and nothingness. Once they were gone, they were gone forever. Trapped inside.

_No, please no._

 

He couldn’t see.

Well, not that he had lost his sense of sight – no, he’s not that old – there was just nothing _to_ see, no light to illuminate the darkness that engulfed him.

Just… Scout. Nothing else but him and his thoughts.

And that terrified him.

“Hello?” He croaked.

Nothing.

_Ah, crap._

This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was supposed to be just a story, a lie made up by the team to scare him. It wasn't supposed to be real, let alone actually happen to him.

Of all the bodies going through respawn each day, why did it have to be him?

_This is just a dream._

Scout closed his eyes. He concentrated hard, eyebrows knitting together in an attempt to drag his mind from its slumber. When he opened his eyes, he’d see the cracked concrete ceiling of his dormitory and the wrinkled pages of magazine girls. Yeah, that's what he’d see, because his stupid brain was making all of this up. 

_It’s just messing with you._

He opened his eyes, and was met by the same darkness as before.

“No… this can’t be happening. Somebody help me! Please... Anybody…” His heart thumped in his throat, breathing ragged and uneven.

“Don’t leave me here.” 

His voice sounded small, broken. He’d never admit it, but Scout couldn’t deny there were tears flowing down his cheeks, merging below his chin only to drop seemingly out of existence. 

Where was his team? Had they forgotten about him already? They wouldn't do this, they wouldn't abandon him… Right? Anger flared up inside his chest. How could they do that to him?

_I trusted them._

But as soon as the feeling bubbled up within him, it was crushed by another thought; maybe it wasn't their fault.

Scout’s head dropped, hanging low in defeat. He didn't blame them if they had decided to leave him. After all, what more was he than a nuisance? A non-stop chatterbox of ‘look at me, I’m better than you.’

Maybe if he had been less annoying. Less of a big mouth, constantly babbling on about how much of a hot shot he was in front of the team.

Maybe if he’d stayed still for the medic, stopped twitching for the few seconds needed so that the beams could take effect.

Maybe if he hadn't been so stubborn, so confident in his abilities, thinking that there was no way he’d be captured by the other team. That normal rules didn't apply to him.

Maybe then, he wouldn't be stuck here.

 

Scout promised that he'd make sure to be extra good when he got back. He’d work with the team instead of dashing off on his own. He’d leave the medic the health packs, instead of taking it for himself. He’d call his Ma, let her know that he loved her and that he always will, if anything were to happen.

That is, _if_ he got back. Another tear dripped silently down his right cheek. 

He wasn't getting back, was he?

 

_Maybe those rumors are true. Maybe I’m stuck here forever._

Scout curled into himself, fingers clutching at his hair for something, anything to hold onto.

“I don’t want to stay here. I want to go home.”

Funny how he’d started thinking about the base as ‘home’. It really shouldn't be. He was a mercenary – hired to kill, not make friends and do whatever friends do. He shouldn't think of his work space and teammates as ‘home’, but he did. Maybe it was because of the similarities; a bunch of battle prone men creating constant noise with only the voice of a single woman to keep them under control.

Scout never knew how much he depended on them. Without the constant hum of background noise to accompany his chatter, everything just felt, well, _wrong_. Hell, he actually missed the damn guys.

 _Anywhere would be better than here._

 

He didn't know how long it had been, how much time he had spent in this hell. Minutes? Days? Years? He didn't know.

All he knew was that he hated it.

The tears had long dried from his face by now, leaving only the feeling of hopelessness at the base of his stomach.

 

Scout was finding it hard to remember what the real world looked like. He had always taken it for granted, but now found himself clinging desperately to the remaining images of what life had been like before this mess. The images were slipping away, slowly crumbling into dust as was his sanity. Vibrant reds and shimmering blues were gradually being replaced by the black of the void, the rattle of gunfire and the screams of war growing ever more distant.

Maybe he would disappear too. At least it would be over.

 

“You’ve gotta get ‘im outta there!” An Australian voice snapped.

Scout flinched from the sudden sound. It was so loud to his unaccustomed ears, but it sounded... _familiar_. He couldn't quite place it.

“I’m tryin’, I reckon I’ve almost got it.” Another voice this time. Texan.

It took a while, but eventually something in Scout’s mind clicked. Hope flared up in the young man's chest once more.

_That’s Engie’s voice! I'm not going insane, that was his voice! Does that mean…?_

He was being saved. After so long, he was finally getting out of this nightmare.

“Just gotta flick this switch and-“

A sudden whirring noise filled the space around him. Scout’s hands flew to his ears, blocking it out. The respawn machine must be starting up again. He felt a tingling sensation in his body, warmth spreading from his core outwards until it emanated from every fibre of his body. The runner felt like he was simultaneously being crushed and inflated at the same time, nerves buzzing once more after so long. He embraced the feeling, relief flooding through him. The darkness around him began to dissipate as pure light replaced it. Scout squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the pull of the machine once more. He was ready.

 

He opened his eyes.

The image of the spawn room greeted him, Engineer and the rest of the team looking at Scout with relieved smiles on their faces.

“Welcome back, son.” Engineer chuckled, patting Scout on the shoulder.

Scout surged forward, hugging the Texan as hard as his limbs allowed him to and burying his face into the shorter man's shoulder. Wet tears soaked into the older man's overalls, Engineer looking surprised at the Scout's sudden display of affection. 

"There's a good boy. Told them I'd get you outta there. It's okay now, you're back." He gave scout a soft pat on the back.

Scout was still clinging onto the other man, proving to himself that this was real. That it was actually over.

Scout smiled.

He was home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! :D If you have any critique, please feel free to leave it in the comments, I've never really written (or at least finished) any fics so it'd be nice to see what I can do to improve c:


End file.
